AIA Architect

Across the Institute: In London, Ottawa, Chicago, Washington, D.C.

London, Ottawa, Chicago, Washington, D.C.

At Home with Soane

Excavations in Italy during
the 18th century generated a new interest in representing and
documenting (sometimes creatively) antiquity’s ruins. François Fouquet
(with his father, Jean-Pierre) built plaster models of these monuments
with an unrivaled eye for accuracy for European collectors, architects,
and even Thomas Jefferson. Sir John Soane, the fastidious Neoclassicist,
amassed a small collection of Fouquet models for his London home,
including Rome’s Pantheon and Athens’ Parthenon. On view through Sept.
24.

Local Color

Spaces of the City,
a photography exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa,
examines urbanity and urbanism in living color. Chromogenic prints,
ink-jet prints, and cibachromes detail our shifting perspective on the
city: as living space, as working space, as theater and spectacle, and
as an arena for sublimity and solemnity. Organized by the Canadian
Museum of Contemporary Photography, Spaces of the City is on view until Sept. 5.

Bookworms and Buildings

Chicago’s Festival of the Architecture Book 1511–2011 celebrates 500 years of design’s most influential books since Vitruvius’ Ten Books of Architecture
at area venues including the Glessner House Museum, Loyola University,
the Morton Arboretum, and the Art Institute of Chicago. But it’s not all
de re aedificatoria. It’s about the culture of building, too:
19th-century pattern books, military architecture guides, and an
exhibition of Jens Jensen’s work round out the festival’s offerings.
Through Nov. 30.

Contract Docs Centennial

The
AIA celebrates 100 years of Contract Documents this year—the industry
benchmark for managing professional and legal relationships. The AIA
first issued Uniform Contracts in 1888 and launched Contract Docs in
1911. For about $25, you could order a proposal, contract, and two
styles of agreement and bond (“printed both sides on opaque paper” or
“one side of transparent paper.”) Today, more than 120 forms and model
language contracts are available to accommodate almost any situation.

Washington Calling

It’s
not too soon to start thinking about attending the AIA 2012 National
Convention, to be held in Washington, D.C. Convention planning is
already in progress, with a call for presentations open through July 1 .
Proposals from industry leaders on relevant topics to the profession
are encouraged. Submission requirements and an explanation of the
convention theme are available online.